'Mission: Impossible 6' director explains how Tom Cruise broke his ankle attempting a stunt

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August 17, 2017 4:59 PM

Tom Cruise did the stunt on the set of "Mission: Impossible 6" three times before breaking his ankle.

On Wednesday, Paramount confirmed that Tom Cruise broke his ankle while attempting a stunt on the set of "Mission: Impossible 6" in London over the weekend.

Now the movie's director, Christopher McQuarrie, has explained what led to the injury.

In an interview with Empire, McQuarrie, who previously directed two other Cruise movies — "Jack Reacher" and "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" — said that Cruise had attempted the stunt three times before breaking his ankle on the fourth jump. The reason: He hit the building on a "slightly different angle" than the previous times.

also cleared up an assumption that was made about the failed stunt. Cruise was never attempting to land on top of the roof he was jumping to, he said.

"The speculation was that Tom had somehow missed or fell short," McQuarrie said. "The truth is that the stunt was never designed for Tom to jump from rooftop to rooftop which a) would have been pretty boring and b) when you see the actual shot you'll understand how it was designed. Also, when you look at what was posted on the internet, you can see Tom do the same stunt multiple times. He was always supposed to slam into the side of the building. That’s what gives the stunt its energy."

Here's Cruise attempting the stunt:

Production on "M:I 6" is on hiatus and it's unknown how long it will take for Cruise to recover, however, McQuarrie said that he's doesn't feel the July 27, 2018 release date needs to be changed. What will be more challenging is getting the shot of Cruise breaking his ankle in the movie.

"I now have to move heaven and earth to make sure that the shot is in the movie," McQuarrie said. "We went to all that effort to get it. It’s a pretty fantastic shot."

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